I'm having an annoying problem. I'll create a new learning game, or edit an existing one, and when I click finish nothing I did is actually saved. I'm now at the point where I create one question at a time, and exit to make sure it is saved so that I don't waste too much time. It's annoying - and wasteful. Anyone else have this problem, or a clue as to what is going on? I'm running Presenter as part of Studio '09 with the latest update under Windows 7.
This is riduculous. It is an Articulate bug and not machine specific. Sounds like it could be related to Windows 7. That is what I have and I am having the same problem everyone else is. I don't want to fill out a form or reload software. I am just going to stop using Learning Games. Too frustrating an experience and a huge waste of time.
Find the real problem instead of making up time-wasting suggestions that don't help.
This is riduculous. It is an Articulate bug and not machine specific. Sounds like it could be related to Windows 7. That is what I have and I am having the same problem everyone else is. I don't want to fill out a form or reload software. I am just going to stop using Learning Games. Too frustrating an experience and a huge waste of time.
Find the real problem instead of making up time-wasting suggestions that don't help.
Hi Susan,
I apologize for the frustration. The suggestions that I've provided previously typically do resolve the issues. However, there are scenarios that require additional research and troubleshooting. I'd be happy to meet with you via a web conference so that I can look at the issue. Please feel free to private message your email address and we can get something set up.
I've started a new project and once again I have to deal with this bug that's lingering in the Learning Games module. I checked for a software update and once again I found none. At this point, I am giving up with this feature as I do not have the time to keep creating the same exercise repeatedly, only to have it disappear when it's supposed to be getting saved. Like others, I, too, was doing it once question at a time and then saving, hoping that it did not vanish into thin air. I have deadlines and this bug is cutting into them! I'll now create the learning games (exercises) with Adobe Captivate and incorporate them into my course instead.
I'm so frustrated at wasting my time that I will have no choice but to look for an alternative to Articulate and Articulate Online once I've completed this current project. I can't see myself paying to upgrade to Articulate '12 or '13 or whatever the next version will be to get this bug fixed.
I've started a new project and once again I have to deal with this bug that's lingering in the Learning Games module. I checked for a software update and once again I found none. At this point, I am giving up with this feature as I do not have the time to keep creating the same exercise repeatedly, only to have it disappear when it's supposed to be getting saved. Like others, I, too, was doing it once question at a time and then saving, hoping that it did not vanish into thin air. I have deadlines and this bug is cutting into them! I'll now create the learning games (exercises) with Adobe Captivate and incorporate them into my course instead.
I'm so frustrated at wasting my time that I will have no choice but to look for an alternative to Articulate and Articulate Online once I've completed this current project. I can't see myself paying to upgrade to Articulate '12 or '13 or whatever the next version will be to get this bug fixed.
Hi George.
Sorry to hear about the frustration. I would certainly like to help you figure out what's going on. I would be happy to have one of my senior support engineers do a complimentary web conference with you to help you resolve your issue. If you would like to take me up on the offer feel free to send me a private message here or you can send me an email directly at jwilcox@articulate.com and I will make sure you are taken care of.
OK, I'm game. This is chewing into my time too - so I'll be the guinea pig. If you can set up a web conference for me, I'm available anytime in the next three days. If you can solve the issue for me - I'll be happy to sign your praises here, and tell people how painless it was.
I thought, since we've been all in this more or less together, I would chronicle the adventures. So, in response to my offer above, I was asked to create a case and submit it, which I did (again). I was then asked to provide additional information about what happens, and I repeated what has been said several times in this (and other) threads. I was asked about my version and we determined I am one release behind, so they asked me to uninstall and reinstall the new version. I now have four "updates" in my articulate application folder, each added there when I was asked to do this exact thing. I noted that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, but I did it anyway, following all instructions rigorously.
I just opened a brand new, empty PPT file, created a four-question learning game and, VOILA, it failed to save it. You just have to love the consistency of it...
As you can see, this will be time intensive, and highly disruptive to what I do every day. I've also already done all of this, with no improvement - so it's not clear to me why I am going to do it again (which I've expressed). That being said, when I get a sec next week, I'll probably do it. Might as well see the experiment through to the end.
I've been blogging the process of debugging my problem. Yesterday a gentleman named David from tech support spent almost 3 hours on the phone with me, and he went through my computer with a fine-tooth comb. I came away with a few insights:
The problem is extremely rare - those of us here are the only ones out of thousands to report it.
The learning games have been in Articulate for a long time, with no history of this behavior
The problem is essentially impossible to reproduce on other systems (they have tried several times and can't)
There are several system-based candidates that need to be ruled out.
In my case:
I have Ring Central, Bluetooth, and PDF add-ins that needs to be ruled out.
I also have the practice of creating new courses starting with an existing course and deleting slides. This creates a copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy....scenario, and a window for errors in the PPT file to creep in.
I have a LOT of system errors, which can be seen in the Computer Manager Log (go to Start Menu, right click on Computer and choose Manage)
I was impressed with David, and the time/effort he put into my system. I'm convinced this is a local problem, not a problem with their software. David and I thought it might help for us to look for a common theme between our systems. One thing we could do is all respond to a few questions - to see if we have a common root problem:
What version of Windows and Office are you using?
Do you have any add-in in PPT? (PowerPoint Options, Add-ins) If so, which ones?
What other software have you loaded in your system?
Is your system reporting a lot of errors (Manager log)? If so, what kind?
I am using:
Windows 7, Office 2007
Ring Central, Send to Bluetooth, PDFmaker
Ring Central, Avast firewall, iTunes, Carbonite backup, Brother Print Control Center, Skype, Google Calendar Sync, Chrome, Roxio, Winzip, Acrobat, Authoring Manager, Audacity, Picasa, Dreamweaver
I have a lot of errors, mostly with the brother's printer, but also with Office crashes, and system crashes
Meanwhile, we did a complete wipe of Articulate and a clean install (which hung the installer at the end - not a good sign). They have offered to take a copy of my PPT deck and see if they can replicate the problem - which suggests the deck is corrupted. I'll keep you all posted.
I am having the exact same issue and it is becoming increasingly frustrating. I create all of the content for the learning game and everything appears to be fine until I hit the Finish button. The learning game then disappears from my screen and it has not been saved in my presentation. This happens about 50% of the time (the other 50% it gets saved properly). I then have to start all over, hoping that it will save properly the next time. This is driving me nuts and is wasting time that I really do not have to waste at this point.
This is exactly my problem. I cannot reproduce it on demand. I have gotten to the point where I enter questions one at a time and save. Really annoying. I tried to record the screen but it seems to work fine every time when the screen is being recorded. That is a lot of resources to dedicate when attempting to just add, and enter questions into, a learning game.
Issues with Learning Games are usual machine-specific issues that can't be resolved using traditional support. Thus, we have to follow-up via a support case.
Can you tell me more about the issues that you're experiencing with Learning Games? Feel free to submit a support case to us and we'll be glad to look into the issue:
Brian, I appreciate your continuing to say enter a support case to track individual issues. However, in this case it is clearly a bug that is causing consternation for everyone who experiences it. Please do not discount this as an individual machine, user problem and let us know if ANYONE is looking into this sporadic and extremely frustrating issue.
The pat response, keep your files on the local hard drive (ridiculous) make sure settings are xxx. I am savvy enough to try to find an answer in a knowledge base or through a community like this. But if I cannot get my answer... the last thing I want is a condescending response that it is a PICNIC, Error 18, or ID 10 T.
Issues with Learning Games are usual machine-specific issues that can't be resolved using traditional support. Thus, we have to follow-up via a support case.
Can you tell me more about the issues that you're experiencing with Learning Games? Feel free to submit a support case to us and we'll be glad to look into the issue:
Brian, I appreciate your continuing to say enter a support case to track individual issues. However, in this case it is clearly a bug that is causing consternation for everyone who experiences it. Please do not discount this as an individual machine, user problem and let us know if ANYONE is looking into this sporadic and extremely frustrating issue.
The pat response, keep your files on the local hard drive (ridiculous) make sure settings are xxx. I am savvy enough to try to find an answer in a knowledge base or through a community like this. But if I cannot get my answer... the last thing I want is a condescending response that it is a PICNIC, Error 18, or ID 10 T.
Hi Caryn.
I am sorry to hear you are having this difficulty and we would certainly be happy to help you out. I would be happy to set up a complimentary web conference with you so we can see this behavior on your machine and see what we can do to help. I can appreciate that this issue is frustrating, however, Brian was not being condescending. He was offering advice to see if it would help resolve an issue. I am not showing that we have a reproducible case of this issue but we will certainly be happy to see what we can do to help you out. Working on your C: drive is indeed good advice. If your content is located on a network drive, it is very possible that the software is unable to save the content and that would be why you are experiencing an issue. Windows does indeed have directory path limitations of 256 characters. Special characters in file names can indeed cause saving issues. Please don't discount this advice. It is not meant to be condescending. I would never presume that anyone knows this information and that is exactly what I would have recommended when this thread first came up in 2011.
@Michael .. wow! hope I don't have to go through that. I have a new project and will find out if my problem still exist. I found it easier to add a few questions, save and go back in to add more. But, would love to have this problem resolved. I often like to be special, but in this case I wish I were not in this minority.
Thanks for sharing your story, it helps understand what is going on with the Learning Game.
Hi Geri.
Feel free to submit a case and we would be happy to take a closer look at your issue.
43 Replies
Thanks Greg. I'd love to investigate the issue with you further when you have time.
Brian,
This is riduculous. It is an Articulate bug and not machine specific. Sounds like it could be related to Windows 7. That is what I have and I am having the same problem everyone else is. I don't want to fill out a form or reload software. I am just going to stop using Learning Games. Too frustrating an experience and a huge waste of time.
Find the real problem instead of making up time-wasting suggestions that don't help.
Hi Susan,
I apologize for the frustration. The suggestions that I've provided previously typically do resolve the issues. However, there are scenarios that require additional research and troubleshooting. I'd be happy to meet with you via a web conference so that I can look at the issue. Please feel free to private message your email address and we can get something set up.
I've started a new project and once again I have to deal with this bug that's lingering in the Learning Games module. I checked for a software update and once again I found none. At this point, I am giving up with this feature as I do not have the time to keep creating the same exercise repeatedly, only to have it disappear when it's supposed to be getting saved. Like others, I, too, was doing it once question at a time and then saving, hoping that it did not vanish into thin air. I have deadlines and this bug is cutting into them! I'll now create the learning games (exercises) with Adobe Captivate and incorporate them into my course instead.
I'm so frustrated at wasting my time that I will have no choice but to look for an alternative to Articulate and Articulate Online once I've completed this current project. I can't see myself paying to upgrade to Articulate '12 or '13 or whatever the next version will be to get this bug fixed.
Hi George.
Sorry to hear about the frustration. I would certainly like to help you figure out what's going on. I would be happy to have one of my senior support engineers do a complimentary web conference with you to help you resolve your issue. If you would like to take me up on the offer feel free to send me a private message here or you can send me an email directly at jwilcox@articulate.com and I will make sure you are taken care of.
OK, I'm game. This is chewing into my time too - so I'll be the guinea pig. If you can set up a web conference for me, I'm available anytime in the next three days. If you can solve the issue for me - I'll be happy to sign your praises here, and tell people how painless it was.
Of course if you don't....
I thought, since we've been all in this more or less together, I would chronicle the adventures. So, in response to my offer above, I was asked to create a case and submit it, which I did (again). I was then asked to provide additional information about what happens, and I repeated what has been said several times in this (and other) threads. I was asked about my version and we determined I am one release behind, so they asked me to uninstall and reinstall the new version. I now have four "updates" in my articulate application folder, each added there when I was asked to do this exact thing. I noted that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, but I did it anyway, following all instructions rigorously.
I just opened a brand new, empty PPT file, created a four-question learning game and, VOILA, it failed to save it. You just have to love the consistency of it...
Next...?
The next instruction was to run PowerPoint as an administrator. I did that, very next test went unsaved.
Next instruction is to follow the instructions in this article: http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=2425
As you can see, this will be time intensive, and highly disruptive to what I do every day. I've also already done all of this, with no improvement - so it's not clear to me why I am going to do it again (which I've expressed). That being said, when I get a sec next week, I'll probably do it. Might as well see the experiment through to the end.
There's another thing I just noticed... why are we able to customize the feedback for "Choices" games, but not for Sequence or Word Quiz games?
Just received a request for a Web Conference - will happen tomorrow at 11:00 AM. Stay tuned!
I've been blogging the process of debugging my problem. Yesterday a gentleman named David from tech support spent almost 3 hours on the phone with me, and he went through my computer with a fine-tooth comb. I came away with a few insights:
In my case:
I was impressed with David, and the time/effort he put into my system. I'm convinced this is a local problem, not a problem with their software. David and I thought it might help for us to look for a common theme between our systems. One thing we could do is all respond to a few questions - to see if we have a common root problem:
I am using:
Meanwhile, we did a complete wipe of Articulate and a clean install (which hung the installer at the end - not a good sign). They have offered to take a copy of my PPT deck and see if they can replicate the problem - which suggests the deck is corrupted. I'll keep you all posted.
Man - that was longer than I thought!
Michel
I am having the same issue. Also on Windows 7. It seems only to save 3 questions per learning game.
My fix is:
Add three questions save.
Enter and edit the learning game, 1 question at a time
That seems to work.
I bit cumbersome, but better than loosing your work over and over
This is exactly my problem. I cannot reproduce it on demand. I have gotten to the point where I enter questions one at a time and save. Really annoying. I tried to record the screen but it seems to work fine every time when the screen is being recorded. That is a lot of resources to dedicate when attempting to just add, and enter questions into, a learning game.
Brian, I appreciate your continuing to say enter a support case to track individual issues. However, in this case it is clearly a bug that is causing consternation for everyone who experiences it. Please do not discount this as an individual machine, user problem and let us know if ANYONE is looking into this sporadic and extremely frustrating issue.
The pat response, keep your files on the local hard drive (ridiculous) make sure settings are xxx. I am savvy enough to try to find an answer in a knowledge base or through a community like this. But if I cannot get my answer... the last thing I want is a condescending response that it is a PICNIC, Error 18, or ID 10 T.
Hi Caryn.
I am sorry to hear you are having this difficulty and we would certainly be happy to help you out. I would be happy to set up a complimentary web conference with you so we can see this behavior on your machine and see what we can do to help. I can appreciate that this issue is frustrating, however, Brian was not being condescending. He was offering advice to see if it would help resolve an issue. I am not showing that we have a reproducible case of this issue but we will certainly be happy to see what we can do to help you out. Working on your C: drive is indeed good advice. If your content is located on a network drive, it is very possible that the software is unable to save the content and that would be why you are experiencing an issue. Windows does indeed have directory path limitations of 256 characters. Special characters in file names can indeed cause saving issues. Please don't discount this advice. It is not meant to be condescending. I would never presume that anyone knows this information and that is exactly what I would have recommended when this thread first came up in 2011.
Thanks for sharing your workaround. If you would like us to take a closer look at your issue, feel free to submit a case.
Hi Geri.
Feel free to submit a case and we would be happy to take a closer look at your issue.
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.